Sinks are found in many places: homes, offices, restaurants, hotels, industrial plants, museums, airplanes, theaters, and malls to name a few. Sinks are even found in some larger boats and portable bathrooms. Sinks are commonly used for cooking and cleaning for example, sinks are typically used to assist with backbreaking and time consuming domestic duties such as dish washing and laundry. Additionally, sinks can add a sleek and/or a distinctive and trendy design feature to a room. Such designs are achieved because sinks can be constructed from a variety of materials, according to various styles, shapes and sizes. For example, there are stand-alone sinks which have no counter tops, self-rimming or drop-in sinks which are lowered into a counter top, undermount sinks which have no raised sink edges above the counter top, London sinks which are shallow rectangular ceramic sinks with a rounded rim set into a work surface, farmer's sinks which are deep and have a finished front, and vessel sinks which are free-standing sinks generally finished and decorated on all sides which sit direction on the surface of the furniture on which it is mounted. Sinks are commonly made of non-porous materials including plastic, ceramic, soapstone, concrete, wood, copper, stainless steel, injection-molded thermoplastics, glass and stone.
The mouth of a sink as well as the depth and radius of a sink can be further stylized. Sink mouths are commonly square, rectangular, circular, or oval, but sink mouths can also be non-regular polygonal shapes and/or have rounded edges and curves for example, D-shaped sinks A sink having a circular cross section could be conical, spherical, and/or spheroidal. Sinks can be configured in an infinite number of ways.
Usually not far from a sink there are sink implements such as scrubbing brushes, soaps, sponges, toothbrushes, razors, toothpastes and hand and/or facial cleansers. These items can be used so frequently that they are ordinarily stored within an arms distance of the sink. These implements can be stored away from the sink, for example, in cupboards, but often, these implements are left out in the open around a sink. When these items are left out in the open they are typically found on the edge of the sink, behind the faucet, on the countertop, or in other areas surrounding the sink for quick and easy access. When in use or not, these kitchen and bathroom implements are splashed with water from the sink faucet and must be left out to dry; this cycle clutters the area around the sink. The area around a sink can be valuable space which, but for the sink implements, could be used for food preparation or, for the simplistic, could be used for nothing at all and be free of clutter.
In addition to cluttering, sink implements stored in the open air around a sink on a countertop raise sanitary concerns. For example, after washing dishes with a sponge, the sponge is wet and dirty from wiping away food particles. When the sponge is left on the counter to dry, the sponge can transfer bacteria and mildew to the countertop. Additionally, after use, sink implements stored in the open air around the sink can leave unsightly water puddles and stains. Sink containers can organize and store sink implements.
Sink containers can also be used to assist with dish washing. Typically, a user fills a sink with soapy water and repeatedly uses the soapy water to rinse glasses, silverware, pots and pans; the soapy water quickly becomes soiled. Objects left near the sink filled with soapy soiled water can quickly become soiled too. Moreover, filling an entire sink with soapy water for dish washing can be wasteful. Even more problematic is the scenario where a sink is filled with soapy water and there is a bar of soap, dishes, forks, knives, and/or broken glass, for example, also in the sink. A user can waste valuable time searching for the items in the sink because the user cannot see through the soapy water. Or, dangerous items in the sink can injure a user because the user cannot see them submerged in the soapy water. For these reasons, others have attempted to create sink accessories that aid in dish washing, food preparation, organizing, storing, and sanitizing kitchen and bathroom implements.
Typically, sink accessories include dishes, containers, or racks and often employ suction cups as a means for attaching it to, and/or suspending it from, a sink. One such dish type sink accessory is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,294 (Weinberg), which discloses a dish having a rectangular prism shape made of wire. The dish can be arranged on a countertop or suspended from walls connected at a right angle by suction cups, which are arranged on two adjacent sides of the wire dish. Unfortunately, when the dish is placed on the countertop, the dish takes up valuable space. When the dish is suspended, the dish tends to slide vertically along the walls and spontaneously detach from the walls.
A container type sink accessory is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,296,876 (Yang et al.) which discloses a sink organizer having a container, suction cups protruding from a planar side of the container and a bracket protruding upwardly from the planar side of the container with the suction cups. The bracket features a handle, which is configured to rest against the top edge of the sink to provide additional vertical stability for the sink organizer. Unfortunately, the described sink organizer can be used only on primarily flat surfaces because the side of the container with suction cups is planar. Additionally, the handle that rests against the top edge of the sink takes up valuable countertop space and can be unsightly. Furthermore, a user carrying on tasks above and around the sink can inadvertently push around the handle; the container could become detached from the sink. Furthermore, the container described, when attached, does not sit flush with the wall because the suction cups protrude from the container. The container described here tends to slide along the wall horizontally.
A rack type sink accessory is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,948 (Leto). The rack disclosed includes a frame having a cradle on one side for holding a scrubber, and on the other side, one or more arms to hook over the flange of a sink to suspend the rack on the sink wall. The rack is attached to a sink with a suction cup. Although the arms that hook over the flange of the sink provide additional vertical stability for the rack, the arms take up valuable countertop space and can be unsightly. Like the container type sink accessory described above, a user can inadvertently push around the arms of the rack type sink accessory and the rack could disengage with the sink. Additionally, in order to clean the rack a user must remove the suction cups with the rack.
Therefore, there has been a long-felt need for a sink accessory for organizing and storing kitchen or bathroom implements that is aesthetically pleasing, stylish and functional in sinks of all shapes and sizes. A stylish sink accessory, which fits in corners and along all sides of a sink, is needed. A stylish sink accessory for left-handed and right-handed users is also needed. Additionally, there has been a long-felt need for a stylish sink accessory that eliminates the sanitary concerns related to leaving dirty implements on countertops. A stylish sink accessory, which has improved vertical and horizontal stability, is needed. Moreover, there is a need for a stylish sink accessory, which can be easily removed from the attachment means for cleaning or as a safety release. Additionally, there is a long-felt need for a sink accessory which is substantially flush with the wall of a sink when engaged. There has been a long-felt need for a sink accessory which, when attached to a sink in a stable manner, does not take up valuable countertop space. A stylish sink container is needed which can function as a colander or a receptacle for food waste.